George Phillips of Grateful Greens Will Be Remembered

March 30, 2016 | Susan

On behalf of The Phillips Family

It is with the greatest sorrow that the family of George Ernest Phillips wishes to announce his untimely death on Sunday, February 21, 2016. George, 72, died suddenly while he was doing what he enjoyed doing most, hiking near his home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. George passed away while looking out at his most loved view of the Santa Cruz Mountains, up above the fog line of the redwoods, upon the peaks off Summit Road, among the Oaks and Manzanita trees, looking towards the Monterey Bay.

Earl’s Organic started our partnership with Grateful Greens in 2012. George was a pleasure to work with and always brought his deliveries of wheatgrass and sprouts with a smile. He relished in his work and always believed that nutrition and a healthier lifestyle are connected. He will be greatly missed by the Earl’s team.

George is survived by his two children, daughter Brittney (Brady) and son Jordan (Susan), and eight grandchildren: Austin, Landon, Kyana, Gavin, Alanakai, Halle, Avery and Mayzie. George is also survived by his brother, Ken Phillips.

To know George was to love George. A business leader, an honest friend, a man of infinite ingenuity, possibility and presence, George was the guy who could be talking to a room full of people and remember everyone’s name on a single pass. The founder and president of Grateful Greens, a company who supplies greens to residential customers, Jamba Juice and many grocery and commercial outlets, George was known for rejoicing in working long hours and finding great satisfaction in a good day’s work. He will be remembered as a man who always gave more than he got, of gentle temperament, and with an eye for quality and detail throughout all facets of his life.

A California native, George graduated from Utah’s Brigham Young University with a degree in Business Administration, moving on to Wall Street, before returning to Santa Barbara in the 60’s. For the next fifty years George’s career was a ladder of success, marked by numerous awards for exemplary salesmanship in the creation and growth of a number of companies, from sales awards at Xerox, culminating in being the National Sales Director of Silicon Valley’s Covalent Systems, he moved through many leadership roles in technology companies in Silicon Valley, before the founding of his own company, Grateful Greens, in the mid 2000’s.

George attacked leisure like he attacked his work. An avid skier, hiker and nature enthusiast, George was at home, whether packing in Mineral King’s peaks and valleys, or Hawaii’s Big Island, or in the coastal mountains near his home. George was always focused on when he could get “back to the Sierra”… the place that shaped him.

His outward presence was one of confidence and stability. His inward nature was about driving to the silence of nature, the possibility of the future, the grounding of what was in front of him in the moment.

When he wasn’t out enjoying nature, George could be found working on his property, which he loved, while listening to albums like “Dark Side of the Moon.”

To talk to his family about George is to learn of a generous man, who above all else, could see the possibility, or even more to the truth, the opportunity, behind every situation. Described regularly as a man who could see both the forest and the trees, George was of a rare character, able to dismiss distraction while tirelessly pursuing a singular vision.

A gathering for family and friends to remember George will be held on Saturday April 2^nd in the afternoon. The location and directions to the site will be posted on www.gratefulgreens.com and www.scmemorial.com at later date; please check those sites for the updated information. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make donations in George’s memory to www.heifer.org.

We’d like to provide assurance that during this time of sadness all Grateful Greens’ business operations are continuing as usual.

Thank you,

Ivana Myron
Program Manager | Grateful Greens
Mobile 408.483.6767 | Toll Free 844.353.0911 Hours of operation: 8:00am – 5:00pm“Delivering Organic Wheatgrass & Sprouts straight to your door”Connect with us GratefulGreens.com | Facebook | Yelp

Grateful Greens Wheatgrass

June 26, 2012 | Susan

Earl’s is starting an exciting new partnership with local wheatgrass grower Grateful Greens. George Phillips, owner of Grateful Greens has been growing wheatgrass since 2007 when he bought the company and he became certified organic in 2010. George left the stressful and busy life of High Tech and Wall Street to pursue a healthier lifestyle. He has always believed that nutrition and a healthier lifestyle are connected.

George has 14 acres of land in Brentwood, CA about an hour east of San Francisco, with 11,000 square feet of greenhouse space. He grows 90% wheatgrass and 10% sprouts including sprouted bean mix, sunflower and pea sprouts. George composts any extra organic matter and he is also working on using solar energy to power the fans and control the temperatures in the greenhouses.

Wheatgrass Seeds at Grateful Greens

Wheatgrass is well known for its health benefits as a super food. It contains a high concentration of nutrients including chlorophyll, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. Wheatgrass has a strong “grassy” flavor and some people like to add a little lemon or orange juice to make the shot taste less bitter. If you add a drop of vanilla it adds a little sweetness to the wheatgrass. One shot of wheatgrass has the same nutrients as a good-sized spinach salad.

Wheatgrass is at its peak nutritional value when it is 5-6 inches tall and it doesn’t taste as bitter. Wheatgrass can be grown outside but it is much easier to control the quality and taste by growing it inside a greenhouse. It is grown by soaking the red, winter wheat seeds for one day, draining the water and then planting the seeds in trays. The wheatgrass needs to be lightly watered 2-3x a day until it’s harvested. The water used to grow the wheatgrass drains into a retention pond and goes back into the aquifer. The Growth cycle really depends on weather. In the winter when it’s colder it could take up to 12 days to grow. In the summer when it’s warmer wheatgrass can grow to its ideal height in 10 days. The wheatgrass is shipped in trays and is still alive up until it is juiced.

Many people drink wheatgrass juice as part of a detoxifying program. George says that wheatgrass can help mitigate the effects of some of the compromising we do in our diets. The easiest way to try wheatgrass is to buy a shot at a juice bar or if you’re really serious you can juice it at home with a masticating manual juicer.

We look forward to growing our partnership with Grateful Greens. George’s wheatgrass is here now!

Wheatgrass at Grateful Greens

| Susan

George Phillips at Grateful Greens

Wheatgrass at Grateful Greens

| Susan

Wheatgrass growing at Grateful Greens

Wheatgrass Seeds at Grateful Greens

| Susan